Red Car Syndrome

I have always heard rumors that red cars get more speeding tickets. Well I no longer have to believe rumors because I have proof. I bought a fire engine red car in February 2006 and as of today I have received two speeding tickets both in the last nine months. I am 34 and until September of last year had never received a ticket and I used to drive a little white Geo. I do not drive any faster in this car than I did the Geo but have been ticketed twice now.

 What's a girl to do? Well, drive slower but I am driving with traffic. The first one my mind was elsewhere but this last one I was speeding up to merge onto the interstate because cars were coming beside me quickly. I sped up to get over and was coasting when I saw a motorcycle on the side of the road parked , it didn't even look like a state trooper cycle just a regular motorcycle. The officer was hiding behind a concrete slab and ran out pointed for me to get over. I am sure the man behind me was happy it was me and not him but what angers is me is the car beside me was going faster but guess what, his car wasn't red. The officer actually scared me running out from the concrete slab and pointing at me I thought he was some mad man on the side of the road.

Needless to say I think I am trading my car soon for a more neutral color.

Tags: life

Break

I took a week off from exercising and eating healthy and I am glad that as of yesterday I am back on track I feel so much better. Keep me envouraged.

Tags: life, weight loss

Friendly Reminder

Well after my encounter on Saturday with that bad attitude customer , I was driving down the road and looked at a church sign, what else could it have said but.....

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1

 

Isn't it funny how God sends these friendly reminders on how we should live and behave.

Tags: life

adventures of christian retail

Another wonderful adventure at my job. Most days my customers are nice and reflect Christ like Christians should. Well today was one of the exceptions, I had a man walk in from the minute he walked through the door he had a negative spirit. It was a very very busy day. I heard him here and there making little quips to his wife about this and that. I just smiled with a heavy heart until one comment was made to me about my store. I defended me and my store but not in a negative way, just said we have a store full of merchandise that reflects God's love and I am sorry he can't find one item to spend his $35 gift card on. Now folks my store may be small but it packs alot of wonderful stuff. He made some smart comment back and his wife told her husband I was being the smart mouth. I was like ok whatever. I had a few choice words I wanted to say but the Holy Spirit kept telling me to be tight-lipped and that a soft answer carries no wrath. I may be misquoting scripture but the symbolism is there. I went to the back before the devil took over and instead of coming back out to listen to his continuous negative attitude I sat in the back and prayed for him and for his wife for having to tolerate such negativism. This made me reflect on how many times my mom would will tell me that some battles are not worth fighting and it is better to walk away and show God's love than to continue to argue about something that will make you lose your witness.

This man even said he was going to tell the person that was nice enough to give him a gift card not to get one again from this store. Was I offended? Yes I was, but you know what kind of person would go back to a person who was nice enough to buy them a gift and tell them not to get it again. In the long run my conclusion was that he was the one with the problem and nothing I did could change him but prayer. So I will continue to pray for him today and that God will work on his heart and change it.

Prior to this customer, I was informed by another customer that our store is a safe haven. There is always a wonderful spirit in here and that we always have or can get what she needs. She also commented she would love to work in such a place everyday.

Both of these customers are a reflection on how the devil works against God. The first customer was so positive and then here comes the devil trying to work and bring me down. You can tell by my blog than I wrote more about the negativity than the positive customer, but isn't that how the devil works. But guess what, the devil didn't win and I persevered and remained quiet and prayed.

Thank you Lord for sending the positive customer today to remind me that our store is here and fighting the battle everyday and that people can come to us and feel your love in this place. Lord help me in every way to reflect you and your saving grace and love.

 

Tags: work, God, life

Final weigh in for challenge

Final weigh in was that I lost 15.3 pounds in 12 weeks, I am both encouraged and discouraged.

Discouraged because I wanted to reach 20 pounds in twelve weeks.

Encouraged because I lost something. For so long I have done nothing but gain. I can tell in the weirdest place I have lost weight, my nose. Why? I don't know why.

Last night I went to a church banquet and the theme was "our body, God's temple". Well I thought ok Lord that is a hint on the exact day my program ended. But even more, we receive a journal by Michael Youssef in the mail and I was reading that last night also. The topic title on day two was "Our Body, God's Temple" .

Alright, I know to take a hint and know God is on my side. Our bodies are a reflection of Him because we are created in his image and it is our responsibility to treat it like a temple.

Thank you Lord for the reminder to keep going even when my program ended, you are all I need to continue.

 

 

Tags: weight loss, life

getting fit

You know when I first started working out this year , I could barely walk over a mile on the treadmill and very much despised the elliptical. I will never forget the first workout with the trainer for my program and he said there is an elliptical go do it for thirty minutes. I was shocked and was like yeah right but was determined, it was the longest thirty minutes of my life. The machine kept stopping because I was not going fast enough. I think I barely did over a mile.

Well eleven weeks later, I look forward to the elliptical because I burn so many calories in less time. Today I started out on the treadmill for a mile and moved to the elliptical to do another mile but was reading an interesting magazine so I continued to ride the elliptical. I actually did two miles on that today. I am so proud. To some that is a small thing but to me it is big.

I didn't stop though I even went and did an hour on the FitLinxx strength machines.

What a great accomplishment, I think.

 

Tags: life, weight loss

Weigh In Monday

Weigh in was today on week 11 of the 12 week challenge. I lost 3 pounds last week which makes up for the 2 pounds I gained the previous week. My total so far in 11 weeks is 15 pounds. I am within my goal range for this 12 week challenge but would love to say I lost 20 pounds in the challenge. If it wasn't for my splurge weekend in Lancaster I might have but oh it was worth it.

Tags: life, weight

God's Will

I have hit one of those points in life where I am confused and seeking God's will. I have more than one area of my life that is leaving me with a restless spirit. Please pray for me as I go through this journey of uncertainty in life.

One thing that makes me know I am seeking help in the right direction is I walked into Sam's Club and there in the Mother's Day display is the Women of Faith Bible Study " Discovering God's Will for your life". Wow! The unusual part is I work in a Christian Bookstore and a book on this subject should have been within my reach but nothing stood out......

NOTE: It was highly unusual for me to buy a book from a big chain because I think you should try to support small local business.

http://www.agapechristianbookstore.com/e/advSearch.asp?mode=search&selQuickSearch=quicksearch&txtTitle=0785249834

 

Tags: life,

Doom Day!

Today was weigh in day after visiting Lancaster , PA with all the Amish goodies. Well I gained two pounds so I was a little disappointed because I did workout at the hotel and at home the morning we left. Oh well, I enjoyed it.

Well I have to brag about the play we went to see, In The Beginning. It is about creation and it opened my eyes as to sin and where it all began. I encourage anyone who wants to see it to go. Go to www.bibleonstage.com

Secondly I have to brag about this wonderful farmhouse we stayed at. It is called Rayba Acres and it was oh so beautiful. Just a heavenly picture of farmland with the greenest green grass I have ever seen. In my mind I was thinking a farm house would be you know farmy. Well there is a farm but the house is at the front of the property. You can walk down the driveway to the dairy farm and will probably be met by one of many cats. There are also donkeys and of course cows . In the back of the house is this beautiful peaceful pond. I could go on and on. The rooms are beautiful and the price was actually cheaper than some of the hotels. So you have kids, huh, no problems there is a play area and the kids are encouraged to explore the farm. I will try to post pictures later but in the mean time the website is www.raybaacres.com . I will definitely return and I hope soon.

So if you visit you have to eat at Diener's restaurant on Rte 30. It is delicious and the prices are reasonable too for the area. Which brings me to the weight gain. This restaurant has the best buttered noodles but I have been informed they are brown buttered noodles. You melt the butter until it is almost burnt. Oh my it is delish. I had a serving for my first plate, second plate and on my dessert plate, yes they are that good.

We found a new farmers market called the Market at Shrewsbury off of Interstate 83. They had the most delectable delights. One vendor had chicken corn soup, oh my. The pretzels vendor had ham and cheese pretzels sandwiches. I was in heaven. Their website is www.marketsatshrewsbury.com.

On Saturday we went driving to our old favorites we have found during the years. One Amish house has a roadside stand called Country Roadside Stand, you have to get a local yellow map to find them and they are only open two days a week. The make the most wonderful pretzels and lemonade. I had two cups of lemonade there and bought some to-go too. Their pretzels are worth the 5-6 hour drive to get there. I read about their pretzels and once again the browned butter was in them too. Go figure that is why they taste so good.

Well I could go on and on , I just love that area and love it even more since finding Rayba Acres. If you ever go and want some pointers, email me. I have so many I could not post them all including nice hotels . One more nice place to see is the national christmas center. At the end of the tour they have replicated part of the journey and the birth of Christ. It is just a small part of the museum but it is very interesting. http://www.nationalchristmascenter.com/

In case you have not noticed it was more than the buttered noodles that accounted for my weight gain, there were a few other things too, like the chocolate chip whoopie pie, but I will not confess all my sins in this blog, lol.

 

Jen, maybe you can join me one weekend as a mini sisterchick getaway.

 

 

Tags: lancaster, life, weightloss,

Weigh In

I am so excited, I have lost another two pounds this week for a total of 14.46. Way to go me!

Good news, I am going to Lancaster this weekend to see the play at the Millennium Theater, In The Beginning.

Bad news, I am going to Lancaster where the Mennonite and amish make wonderful food. Look out buttered noodles, mashed taters and fried chicken here I come. Oh and don't forget the whoopie pies, oh my!  I may not show up for weigh in this Monday, lol..

Tags: weekend, life, lancaster